It is desired at times that a given speech conform to a time limit due to multiple speakers, the type of audience, a particular program, the forum, or context that the speech is given in. Speech time limits apply across many fields of endeavor, such as law where lawyers must make oral arguments in court, or in the educational area where public speaking training emphasizes speech timing for effective communication, and in the scientific, technical, or business fields where multiple presenters must conform to time limits as part of a larger program or seminar/symposium time limit. In addition, the effectiveness of a speech's delivery and the message communicated to the audience is dependant upon the timing of the speech for maximizing the comprehension and interest by the audience. Given the importance of speech timing and the need for it at times, there have been a number of attempts to address this issue in helping a speaker keep track of his or her speech time while giving the speech. The difficulty often has been the inherent problem of the speaker's attention and effort being entirely consumed by the speech itself and the inability of the speaker to put anything other than minimal attention on keeping track of time during the speech. In addition, a speaker will risk losing his or her speech pace or train of thought if they stop to acknowledge where the speech is at, time wise for a particular moment. Doing this, and having to regain his or her speech pace and train of thought can be difficult with the attendant psychological pressure of the audience on the speaker.
The ways in which speaker's have attempted to overcome this, are to rehearse their speeches extensively to practice timing or frequently glancing at a clock, wristwatch, or stopwatch while giving the speech. These methods can be of some assistance, however, they are of limited value, as rehearsing a speech for timing rarely translates to the same timing in front of an audience as questions can be asked or the speaker's pace of speaking inadvertently changes in front of the audience. Thus, rehearsing the speech under different circumstances than when the actual speech is given is not usually a reliable way to control or predict the timing of a speech. Also, glancing at a timing device can interrupt a speaker's pacing or train of thought as a quick mental calculation needs to be made comparing the timing device indication to the actual time left for giving the speech or approximately what portion of the speech should be completed given the time observed. This interruption of the speaker's attention can knock the speech off of its pace and possibly cause the speaker to take additional time to refocus on where to resume his or her speech, all of which lessen the effectiveness of the presentation.
As the timing of a speech usually has some level of importance, there remains a need for a device that is easy to use, detracts minimal attention from the speaker, is portable, is versatile for many differing speaking situations, and can record elapsed time.